Whoops!

I realized that, once again, I have been uploading pictures to shutterfly and not putting them on the share site so all of you can see them! Sorry- check now, the new ones should be up :D

C

Boxes, boxes, boxes!

Hello all,

Well, we've been in the house for 9+months, so you know what that means in our world... TIME TO MOVE! haha... we've been joking about it, but we really are moving to a larger house on base.

Everything is packed and the squadron is coming to help us move everything on Saturday. The house we are moving into has 3 much larger bedrooms, 2 full baths, a living/dining room, a HUGE kitchen with tons of cabinets, a den/playroom off the kitchen, a laundry room, and a 2 car garage. But the biggest selling point is it is one story! No more stairs to have to deal with, especially with 2 little kids! We have been on the waiting list for a fence,and our names just came up last week, so they are letting us transfer the fence to the new house, where we will install it.

The biggest downside is we have to repaint this house before we move out, and tear up J's garden :( We will also be attempting to paint the new house tomorrow and Friday before we move in... yes, we are crazy!

I will be sending an email out to family this week with the new address, but if you want it, ask!

Much love! J, C, J, &Duckie

Triphalangeal Thumb

Hello all,

Well, this is not going to be the most upbeat blog entry. We have some not so wonderful news to share. First off, let me preface this with Duckie, J, and I are fine and healthy. Jarvis is currently healthy and just fine, however we have discovered a name for a condition he has had since birth.

I’m not sure if any of you noticed, but from the first moment we met him in the hospital, we noticed that Jarvis had an unusually long thumb. We joked about it often, and many people noticed, but we just assumed the muscle between his thumb and first finger must not have been fully developed yet, and so his thumb just appeared long. He has been having well-baby check up every 2 months and has been progressing physically and developmentally right on time.

He took a bit longer to start using his thumb than normal (not until after 3 months), but nothing of any major concern to warrant me bringing it up to a doctor. It wasn’t until a family member (who doesn’t see Jarvis as often as J and I) did a little research on their own, that we realized that he might actually have a condition with a name.

We have identified that Jarvis has a genetic abnormality called Triphalangeal Thumbs. A normal finger has a total of 4 bones (one in your hand and 3 on the finger) and 3 joints. A normal thumb has 3 total bones (one in the hand, 2 on the finger) and just 2 joints. Jarvis’ thumb has a total of 4 bones and 3 joints, it mimics his pinky. We did a bunch more research and looked at photos and felt confident to contact a doctor at the clinic here on base. He has contacted a friend who is a geneticist since it is a chromosomal abnormality. We took x-rays today to confirm the condition and check for deformities of the bones. We had a chance to glance at them, and we can confirm that he has an extra joint and bone on each finger. As far as bone deformities go, we will be meeting with the doctor to analyze the x-rays at a later date.

One of our biggest concerns after doing research is that Triphalangeal thumbs is very often an indicator for many other serious conditions, so the geneticist has recommended that we do some further testing. It can be a standalone condition and not be related to anything else, but it is worth checking. We will be doing a blood test for a syndrome that doesn't develop until later in life, and we will be traveling to Bismarck to see a pediatric cardiologist for an ECG, EKG, and chest x-rays to check his heart for any issues.

As long as he is not diagnosed with any problems or bone deformities, we can expect him to continue to progress as normal. He will most likely need some extra help learning to write and use his thumbs for fine motor skills (pincher grasp, etc), but should have no trouble learning them eventually. His thumb will always be longer than a normal thumb, most likely anywhere from a ½ inch to 1 ½ longer and it will continue to be noticeably different. Assuming there are no bone issues, we will not pursue surgery as an option, it’s unnecessary.

We are keeping a positive attitude, as many serious syndromes can already be ruled out based on his excellent physical, mental, and emotional health. The tests are more of a precaution. We wanted to share this information with you. It is a dominant inherited trait, but can also be spontaneous. There is a 75% chance he will pass it on to his children. There is a slight chance that Duckie will have the same issue, as it is possible either J or I passed it on, but we will just have to wait and see.

I truly think it will not hamper him in the long run. We are imagining a little 8 year-old running around happily telling the world he has “mutant” thumbs! And who knows, he may be a world famous pianist or quarterback with his excellent reach!

We love you all and will keep you updated on any developments!

*** Oh, and be sure to check http://jaceandchelsea.shutterfly.com/ for new pictures and http://www.youtube.com/user/jace26#p/a for new videos!***

J, C, J, & D

7 months old

It's amazing how much faster these older months tick by compared to the first few!! Those sleepless nights made the days so long!

But our little boy is getting bigger everyday!! He was 7 months old yesterday... quite amazing to me! He has really grown into his personality and is a joy to be around!

Developmentally, he:

• Got his first tooth a few days ago!! It's still barely visible above the gums, but, let me tell you, I can feel it! (that's how we found it!) He's been a little more fussy and been waking once at night needing a little comforting, but mostly he is still his happy self. It's the bottom right front tooth.
• Is dropping his early evening nap. This is a huge deal for us, as it opens up our evenings quite a bit. Some days he still takes a 20-45 min power nap (mostly dependent on how his earlier naps went), but others he is up from 230-7. Which means dinner and/or errands in town! He still has two 2-2.5 hours naps earlier in the day.
• Dropping a nap/moving to a four hour schedule means he has dropped a feeding as well- we are down to 4 bottles a day and lots more solids (more on that later).
• Can sit up on his own quite well. I still lay pillows or the boppy behind him, as he gets excited chewing on a toy and throws back. But he enjoys sitting and viewing toys from another angle!
• He can also stand without any weight support. He needs balance support for sure, but his little legs hold all his weight. He really enjoys this.
• He eats around 8-10 tbs of food at each meal (3 times a day) and eats pretty much whatever we put in front of him. Bananas, pears, peaches, apples, plums, yogurt, spinach, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, mashed potatoes with corn, tomatoes with cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, corn, and so many more!!
• He has also started finger foods in the past week. We feed him organic puffs (which melt in his mouth), baby biscuits, carrots, and few other soft veggies. He is still learning to get them to his mouth consistently, but he tries hard!
• He now sits up in the shopping cart when we head out, instead of in his infant carrier, which means I am researching convertible car seats, and we will soon upgrade to a big boy car seat!
• He has continued to improve his talking skills and has learned all sorts of new sounds. He blows raspberries, clicks his tongue, squeals, and talks like crazy.
• One of his biggest developments is just how *CLOSE* he is to crawling. He has learned to pull up his knees and enjoys being on all fours. He rocks back and forth and attempts to go forward to reach for toys. He easily crawls/scoots backwards but forward motion is still unpredictable. It seems he will skip the “army crawl” that a lot of children do (pulling their weight forward using their arms alone, dragging their back half) since he enjoys being on his knees so much. But we will see!!

On the Duckie front, everything is going normal! Duckie is nearly 15 weeks along now and has a strong heartbeat. I have another appointment at 18 weeks, and we will mostly likely schedule an ultrasound for around 20 weeks- can’t wait to share the pictures!

All is well up here in the North. We’ve had very mild weather 70s to 80s most days, but if the clouds clear, that sun can really heat things up! We are right in the middle of some major weather though, and have had many large thunderstorms with some rotating clouds. So far it means more days off since Jace can’t fly in that weather :D

In some other big news, there is a possibility that we will be moving houses in the next couple of weeks. We are now eligible for a larger house, and we are considering taking the opportunity! The catch is that we have 7 days once we decided to vacate this house, repaint it, and move into the new one. We’ll let you know what we decide!

We love you and miss you all!! J, C, J, &D

Mosquitoes

Well, we took the opportunity a couple of weekends ago to enjoy some sunshine here in Minot and get Jarvis' 6 month pictures done!! He wasn't a very happy camper at the beginning (the mosquitoes here are HUGE and in large swarms all through out the day, and he did not enjoy the lemony smell of the bug spray!), but he calmed down and we got quite a few smiles out of him!

My good friend Stacy did them, and she has posted them here :http://www.stacyvandyckphotography.com/clients/mccown2/

If you want to order them, just view the picture you like, and click Add/View cart in the bottom right. She offers several packages and flip books, or you can just order individual pictures. If you have any trouble, let me know!

More big news on the Jarvis front is that he nows sits consistently on his own. He catches himself most of the time if leaning to one side or the other, or to the front. However he still leans back and can't catch himself, so he still needs someone nearby! He is attempting to move with everything he's got!! He rolls repeatedly to get around, and leans and reaches, and tries to scoot to toys. He desperately wants to crawl and has no problem pushing up on his hands and knees for several seconds. We have no doubt he will be on the move in the coming weeks!! His vocal abilities continue to expand with clicks, more tones and pitches, and attempting to make different sounds. He loves the kitty and puppy, his jumper, and any silly noise you can make!

Duckie is now 12 weeks, 3 months, and the morning sickness is finally subsiding. We have another appointment in a couple of week, and hope to get an ultrasound in 2 months or so!

We love you all and miss you!

J, C, J, & Duckie

Growing by another 2 feet!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting another baby in February!! So far, "Duckie" (as we've named this one!) is due February 2nd, which means I am almost 11 weeks along! Nearly 3 months :D

Duckie has all of it's major organs, can move it's arms and legs and is just over an inch long! I have had very different symptoms as of yet, guess every pregnancy really is different! J is very very excited about another little one, Jarvis has NO CLUE how his life has changed, and both the puppy and kitty are complaining, haha!

Jarvis will be just shy of 13 months when Duckie is due, and all I keep thinking is that I hope he walks early, haha! We know it will be challenging in many ways, but we are so excited to see how close the two of them are when they grow up.

Once again, we will not be finding out the baby's gender, nor will we be sharing any names until Duckie makes his/her appearance. If I make a slip and refer to Duckie as "he" it is simply because I've gotten used to "he" with Jarvis, please don't read anything into it, I swear we don't know!!

We love you all and miss you very much!! Thank you to all of you who have taken me up on my webcam offer in the past week, we have enjoyed seeing and talking to you!!

J, C, J, and Duckie

Sizes...

Oh, and people keep on asking- Jarvis is now in mostly 9 month clothing. He fits into a few longer 6 month onesies still, but has mostly moved onto the 9 month clothing in any Carter's brand, and 9-12 months in most other brands.

:D

6 Months!

Happy half-birthday (yesterday) to Jarvis! Our boy is now six months and he’s getting bigger and learning more everyday!

The last week or so has been a tough time because Jarvis has been “mister fussy pants” as opposed to his usual “Mister happy/giggle pants” self. The good news is that he seems to be breaking through this period of fussiness we have associated with a “Wonder week” (a mental developmental leap) and as a result seems to be picking up on some new skills! In just the last few days Jarvis has really started to fine tune his balance and he is now all but able to sit up by himself. Another result of this is that he is able to support his own weight standing up straight. Of course, he still has to be kept from falling over, but previously he was sticking his butt out and relying on us to hold some of his weight instead of standing up straight.

Right now his favorite activity is sitting inside his excersaucer, though being naked on the changing pad is still a close second and a new activity we just introduced today may be his favorite soon. Today we decided with his new gains in balance he might be able to finally be safe in the jumper! So we gave it a shot and he took to it pretty quickly and had a ball. Check out the video on youTube (to be posted later today) to see some bouncy giggles.

Today he had his six month appointment and turns out he’s right on track. He was 17lbs 10oz which is in the 68^th percentile, his head was 17.25 inches in circumference which is in the 53^rdpercentile (right in the middle) and his length was 25.5” in the 30^th percentile (not surprised he’s short.) We have to go back for shots on Monday L.

He seems to be on track for all his developmental milestones and we can’t wait to see him get to all the ones in the future, but not too fast!

Much love, J, C, & J

Webcam anyone??

So, as Jarvis has been able to stay up for longer and longer, I have been wanting to encourage you, our family, to schedule webcam dates with us!

Jarvis loves looking at the webcam, and anytime he sees my computer, he stares at it, waiting for the webcam to come up!

Just thought I would give you the basics of our schedule so you could know the best times. I encourage you to call, as I rarely have the webcam open on my computer, but am often available!! Give me a call, and I'll open it up and let you see our little man play away!

630-755: Morning waketime (this is still really early for Mommy, so I don't recommend this time :D)

755-1030: nap

10:30-12:05: Mid-day waketime (VERY good time!)

12:05-2:00: nap

2:00-3:45: Afternoon waketime (part of which is bath time every other day)

3:45-4:15/4:30: nap

4:15/4:30- 7:00: Evening waktime (bottle at 5:00 and 6:30)

7:00: bedtime

He spends the first 30-45 minutes of each waketime eating his bottle/solids (Except his evening waketime, bottle at 5:00, then ready for bed/bottle at 6:30), but other than that, we are pretty open!!

Thursdays/Fridays tend to be our busiest days. You can catch J home after 6 on occasion (no guarantees though!) or on weekends.

Call me if you want to see him!! We would love to webcam with you, he's getting pretty interesting these days :D

Much love, Happy 4th this weekend!!

C

Youtube

Oh, and check youtube for some new videos too!

www.youtube.com/user/jace26

C

Roller Coaster!

My goodness,

I am horrible at this!! Things have been SUPER busy around here!! I have had several large orders and having been spending most of my days sewing! But things have calmed down a bit, so here's what we are up to.

Jarvis is now 5 months old!! He's getting to be such a chunky little happy baby. He smiles and giggles all the time! And he is definitely a boy: he loves being "rocketed" up into the air by daddy, being "scooped" up off the changing pad or floor, being bounced around in any way, and EVERY silly noise mommy can make!

Physically, he is moving right along. He sleeps consistently on his tummy and can roll from front to back and back to front without problem, but still only in one direction. He is getting SO CLOSE to sitting up, it's amazing. He can sit in the bumbo seat no problem, and pretty well in his high chair. And with a little support he sits on the ground. He still leans forward and can't get back up, and will often just tip to one side all of the sudden! But now that he can sit more, he prefers to be sitting up instead of laying down most of the time!! If you are trying to hold him in a cradled position, he pushes his little elbows back and tries to push up into a sitting position. Stubborn little boy! He actually reached down and grabbed his feet for the first time a few days ago, and has discovered they are quite the fun little toy! He weighed in at a whopping 16lbs, 8 ozs and 25 inches long. He has little rolls ALL OVER the place!!

On a not so good note, he and mommy both came down with a nasty cold last week. It's been pretty rough. He's fine and happy while he's awake, but lying down means lots of runny noses and coughing. He spent a couple of days just napping in mommy and daddy's arms- which is very abnormal!! He woke several times a night coughing and coughing. Poor baby. Unfortunately, I think mommy felt even worse than he did. I couldn't stop coughing during the day or night! It's hard not be able to give him any medicine to make him feel better. But both he and I are on the mend, he coughed a little last night, but no waking, yay! And his naps are getting back on track!

As far as sleeping goes, he gets up at 7am, is up until 825, down for a nap until 1030, up until 1200, down for a nap until 200, up until 335, down for a shorter nap until 500, then to bed at 7. So he stays up anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours now, it has been so much fun to have him awake for longer stretches of time! More time to bathe, take walks, eat solids, run errands, etc!

As far as eating goes, when he came down with the cold, we noticed a significant decrease in his milk intake, which we thought was just due to being sick and not feeling like eating. But after several days of fussing while eating (very abnormal), a light bulb went on in my head! He was probably ready to switch to a faster flow nipple. So after 3 days of waiting to get them in the mail, boo for not having stores around here... we switched and he is back to his big eater ways! He is still getting around 38 oz of formula a day, big boy! As far as purees, it's been a bit of a roller coaster! He initially loved sweet potatoes, apples, was so-so about the rice cereal and HATED peas. We tried to introduce avocados (which are a great first baby food- but I am slightly allergic to, although I eat them anyway!) and he had an adverse reaction. Lots of rubbing his ears (like his throat itched), very poor sleeping, lots of pooping. So we are holding off on those until he gets a bit older. Then he got sick, and the solids eating went out the window. I think he found it hard to eat when his nose was so stuffy, and he just wasn't hungry. But it has picked up again, we've introduced pears and bananas, and he loves both of them, but sweet potatoes seem to not be a hit lately. In a couple of days, we are trying sweet potatoes mixed with broccoli, and continuing with oatmeal and peas. Hopefully now that he is feeling better, we can go back to introducing new foods every 3 days or so.

Daddy has been working like crazy lately. They only have a few co-pilots right now until some new guys get completely ready to fly, so he is flying twice a day, which according to him is physically and mentally exhausting! He usually goes into work at 7am and is home between 5-6pm. He only gets about 1 hour in between flights that isn't spent pre-/post-briefing or flying. Long days.

Like I said earlier, I have had several large orders and have been sewing like crazy! Plus I've been working on redecorating some of the rooms in our house! I've realized I've just been throwing stuff up on the walls, since I knew we were moving, but now I can actually decorate for the space, since we will be here a while! Pictures soon.

We were thrilled to have my grandparents visit us this past weekend! I know they enjoyed the one on one time with Jarvis, and he certainly did! He just laughed and giggled at them, and loved having an audience. The puppy LOVED having them here as well, he had play buddies who weren't too busy working on doing housework to play with him!! I think he's going to sleep for the next few days!! We really appreciated them taking the time and energy to come out and visit us all the way up here!

New pictures on shutterfly, so check there.

Much love!

J, C, & J

So quickly...

Another post already?? I know, I'm surprised too, but this little boy is just growing up so quickly!

During the last week, he has learned to consistently roll over to his tummy and now does it under his play gym, on a blanket, in the crib- absolutely everywhere! He can do 'baby push-ups' by moving his arms around when he is on his belly and pushing his chest up off the floor. This is a hug improvement, as of just a few days ago, he had trouble pushing up enough to even move his arm out from underneath him right after he rolled!

We've been wondering when Jarvis would discover his feet- developmentally that can happen anywhere from 3 months on. He has just started reaching for his feet this week! He grabs his knees and pulls them up towards his chest, but hasn't quite reached his feet. But he loves looking at them, and will hold them if you pull them towards his hands.

He has also discovered shrieking this week- ohhh, joy! Haha! He is using his voice more and more and learning to blow bubbles and make more sounds. Before we know it he'll be talking!

He is doing well on cereal, we've started giving half the bottle, then cereal, then the rest of the bottle, and his appetite for cereal has increased! He now opens his mouth when I move the spoon towards it and swallows most of it. He only eats it at his 7am feeding right now, but Saturday we will move to twice a day, and then next week, start on some real solids! So far, I've made sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, apples, pears, butternut squash, bananas and avocados.... yum, yum!

Have a wonderful weekend!

C, J, & J

Sweet boy

The little boy just keeps growing! Jarvis is now 4 months, can you believe it!

He had his 4 month well baby appointment this week, and he weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 10 oz! Just 6oz shy of doubling his birth weight! He was in the 66^th percentile as far as weight went. He was 24.5 inches long (52^th percentile) and his head was 16.5 inches around (56^th percentile). He seemed to have a memory of his 2 month appointment, and getting shots, and was NOT HAPPY when the doctor started looking him over. The little drama boy didn’t even get shots, despite all the crying, as immunizations was closed for the day: he doesn’t know what he’s in for tomorrow L

He is eating like a little piggy (35-40 oz a day!) and to keep up with his ravenous food intake we are starting to introduce solid foods to him as of yesterday. We are of course starting with the basic rice cereal to get him acquainted with the process of eating food. But soon we will be introducing him to a wide variety of foods that mommy has prepared for him. That’s right, instead of buying the yucky jar food Chelsea is making her own (does that surprise you really?). It ends up costing less than a fourth as much and of course then we know exactly what goes in it, and it tastes good enough that I, daddy, helped myself to some of the leftovers! He wasn’t completely sure what to think of the cereal, it was very thin, so he will actually swallow it. But with a little practice, we are sure he will be eating like crazy. Next thing we know, pizza and brisket with daddy!

Currently Jarvis’ favorite activities are (in order) 1. Being naked, (yup still his favorite) 2. Playing with toys in his play gym or with mommy or daddy 3. Putting anything and everything in his mouth 4. “Reading” books (lots of colors!) 5. Bath time (being naked! But we’re still not totally sure what to do about the water.)

Some new skills we’ve learned/mastered is the ability to reach out (willfully) and grab things with both hands (usually followed by pulling them to his mouth.) The ability (and desire) to roll over consistently from his back to his front so that he can sleep on his belly. The flip side of that is that he has yet to roll from his front to his back consistently, so when he wakes up in the night and would like to be on his back, he gets frustrated (read: cries.) We are also starting to show signs of wanting to try and standup, usually in the form of supporting his weight on his legs while mommy is trying to burp him. We are still working on sitting up without the help of the bumbo seat, but we get closer everyday. Soon I think he’ll be getting his drivers license and going to college.

Make sure you are checking shutterfly for pictures and you tube for new videos- including a new cereal one!

Mommy celebrated her first, official, Mother’s Day today (she was still in-training last year). She has been sewing lots for friends, and recently acquired a new toy. She now has an sewing/embroidery machine, and has been using it quite a bit to fulfill orders and to start up her new online shop- more information on that soon. Daddy has been flying like crazy and the squadron just had a very good inspection. The weather is finally warming up around here (mid 40s-50s… haha) and daddy is planting a garden. Everything is green and some days are warm enough for walks.

Miss you all-

J, C, & J

So behind!

Well, Jarvis is now over 3 months old! Sorry!!



We have spent the past month in Texas visiting family. It has been really wonderful to see everyone, but Jarvis and I are happy to be heading home tomorrow!



Jarvis has been growing like crazy- here's what he has been up to lately:



A couple of days ago, he rolled over from his tummy to his back several times, but hasn't done it since!! He now has no trouble reaching out and grasping toys and pulls everything towards his mouth. He smiles and laughs ALL the time! He LOVES being naked, his favorite time is getting his diaper changed- such a boy!



He opens his hand completely now, no more tucked thumb! But he still only sucks on his whole fist or first fingers, hasn't gotten the thumb in there yet! He loves reading books, attempts to turn pages, and wants to feel the pictures.



He is a complete FLIRT!! He smiles at all the ladies, but he is really fascinated by deep male voices. He tends to always turn and find the male voice around him.

He dropped the 'swaddle' (blanket wrapped around him to pin his arms to his side) a few weeks ago. The purpose of the swaddle to to help him sleep so his arms don't startle him while sleeping on his back. He was fighting it like crazy and waking himself up, so we dropped it sooner rather than later. He now sleeps in a wearable blanket to keep him warm, what a big boy! We discovered why he was fighting it so much, he now sleeps on his side! His hips are flat, but both arms are to the left and his head is on it's side. So adorable!



I swear he has put on at least 3 pounds since we have been here, he is such a little chunk. I've had to put away all of his 3 mo. clothing, he is now in Mediums, or 3-6 months. What a big boy!! He is still eating every 3 hours (around 33-35 oz total a day!), and sleeps for 10-11 hours a night about 3 nights a week. The others nights, he usually wakes once at around 3 am.

I'll post some pictures soon, but go check out jaceandchelsea.shutterfly.com for lots of pictures. You can also go to www.youtube.com/jace26#p/u to view a bunch more videos of the little bitty!

We love you all!
J, C, & J

We really enjoyed our time down in Texas and getting to see a lot of family and friends!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Jarvis is 2 months old! (One week ago :D)

Sorry I'm a little behind! Jarvis is actually 2 months and one week tomorrow!

He is growing like crazy! Monday he had his 2 month checkup. He weighed in at 11lbs 2 oz- up from 8lbs 2 oz at 5 weeks! He was 23 inches long, up from 20 inches at birth, and his head was 15.5 inches, up from 13 inches at birth. The doctor checked him over and he looked fine! He is growing really well on the formula, eating like crazy! He feeds 6 times during the day and usually takes 5.5-6 ozs at each feeding. He is working on sleeping through the night, but still wakes a couple nights a week for an ounce or 2 of formula around 4 am. But he is well on his way!

He has hit several milestones in the past few weeks. Around 5 or 6 weeks, he started smiling "socially." Which means he smiles when he sees J or I and enjoys making faces and smiling during play time. The best is when one of us is feeding him and then other walks in the room. When he catches sight of the person walking in, he smiles around his bottle- just makes your heart melt!! He also started "talking" A LOT!! He coos and aaas in conversations with us, talks to his toys, and even 'sings' along with the lullaby we sing when he goes down for naps/bedtime.

He has also started actually being interested in toys and mobiles! He spends some time every day laying under the play gym and is fascinated by the mobiles I made for his room. He has also discovered that he can control his arms and legs! If you lay him on his back, he kicks and jerks his arms up down. He often hits himself in the head because his control is not completely there, the poor thing! But he does have enough control to bat at toys and mobiles, and he attempts to open his hand and grasp at them!

He continues to hold his head up well during tummy time, and can hold it no problem while being held upright.

He naps well most of the time, and like I said, is sleeping more at night, which makes Mommy and Daddy happy!

Overall he is a very happy content baby! He does really well on his three hour schedule, and seems to bounce back pretty well from missed naps or being out and about, but does become fussier in those situations. Like any 2 month old, he needs his naps!

Here are my favorite picture from his 2 month shoot that I did- there are more on shutterfly!

He and I will be making our way to Texas in just over a week- we can't wait! I am a bit nervous about traveling alone with him- it's over 8 hours of travel! And figuring out what to pack has been a little different (those cloth diapers are heavy!)

J is doing well at work, very busy, but lots of flying, which is good. He is always working on projects: worktable for garage, computer, hidden monitor in the living room... etc! I have started up an online store to sell my sewing crafts after several orders from friends here in Minot. I am also continuing to sell my scrapbooking supplies. Plus I have made lots of great friends- I go to a Christian group called Mothers of Preschoolers once a week and participate in a playgroup with a bunch of other mothers. Jarvis is the youngest, so he doesn't really play, but it's good Mommy time!

The weather has warmed up here, it's been in the 30s!! The snow is melting and we are seeing roads, driveways, and sidewalks for the first time in several months! The fog has been really bad, but the sun peeks out occasionally! However, we've heard to expect a least a couple more snow storms before spring comes to stay! All I can say- I think I may actually prefer the snow to the mud that has taken over our backyard! Muddy, muddy puppy paws!

Love you all!

J, C, & J